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Tuesday, February 21, 2012

I wanted to call this one "Grilled White Balsamic Chicken" but technically it is an "indirect" cook so I went with "fire roasted". Whatever you call it, it was pretty bleeping good and actually very easy.

The chicken was moist and tasty, but I wasn't surprised. One of the first preparations I ever learned for grilling chicken was using Italian dressing as a marinade. When I tasted how great this White Balsamic Vinaigrette was, I just KNEW I had to try it as a marinade.

The pasta was penne with a simple cream sauce with roasted red pepper and basil and it was just as good as the chicken. I'll post the recipe for the pasta on Thursday but it went really well with this dish.

Place the butterflied chicken in a 1 gallon sized Glad™ Zipper Bag, pour in the vinaigrette, seal and make sure the vinaigrette gets all over the chicken. Let marinate in the refrigerator or 4 hours. Flip it every now and then.

Remove the chicken from the marinade. Season the front and back with the salt, thyme and black pepper. Place in a stoneware pie pan or roasting pan with the chicken stock.

Preheat a charcoal grill to 350f set up for direct heat.

Place the chicken on the grill and cook until the chicken reaches an internal temp of 155-160f in the breast and 175-180f in the thighs. This should take about one hour.

Remove, allow to rest for 5-10 minutes.

Notes

Absolutely make sure to use a butterflied or "spatchcocked" chicken for this. It lies flat and cooks evenly this way.

Can't wait until summer gets here....hate PAYING for fresh thyme.

I'm not dancing....I am jerking back as coal pops when lighting with a MAPpro torch. Notice my neighbor's Big Green Egg in the back ground.

aahh, come 'cook' one for us! I'm going to have to try that marinade! It looks perfectly delicious! I love using thyme as well. It's been mild enough here this winter so that I've been able to keep using some of my herbs.

Unfortunately, when using a product instead of individual ingredients, occasionally we run in to the product not being available in the area. This is one of those times: Florida Panhandle. Can you post the ingredients so we might make a reasonable facsimile?

Guess your neighbors couldn't stand the fact that you were having all the fun!! lol The chicken looks amazing, Chris, but I expect nothing less - and look at me.. I just purchased white balsamic vinegar.. looks like I'm going to have to make a vinaigrette!

This chicken looks so fabulous on that bed of pasta. I've recently discovered the charms of chicken basted in balsamic vinegar and olive oil, so I hear what you're saying here. Can't wait for the pasta recipe!

@Michele and Jenn: Actually, he already had his Egg when they moved in around the holidays. But we do a lot of "Egg talk" across the fence.

@Martha: Lucky! Only my sage and some parsley is still usable. The oregano and thyme look like they will come back in spring though.

@anon: It's basically just making a vinaigrette using white balsamic vinegar. Here is a link for a recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/balsamic-vinaigrette/

@Larry: Thanks!

@Kyle: I like the MAPpro torch. I have used it for roughly 2 1/2 years. For me it's the fastest way to get coals up and running full temp. I hit 3 areas for 20 seconds each. Faster than cubes or veg oil soaked towel.

@Kim: It is such a simple, easy trick that gives a lot of flavor and you can use just about any vinaigrette.

@Sue: That is also a great method. I like to do the same with just a little citrus juice added.

@Lynda: Here's a locator: http://www.marzetti.com/where-to-buy/ Krogers and Food City carry it in my neck of the woods.

This looks great...no matter what type of balsamic vinegar is used, I'd love it. Question for you, though. When using the stoneware, and grilling it over direct heat, doesn't that have the potential to crack it?

@Robin: I have a full set of various stoneware that I have used on our grills for about 3 years, for temps all the way to 550f. Only one has ever cracked and that was when I poured a cold liquid into a hot stoneware. Instant "CLINK" sound and it crack in half. But that was my stupidity, lol.

The first time I ever grilled chicken, I used Wishbone Italian Salad Dressing as a marinade. Then I used to make it with Girards Champagne Dressing (still my favorite bottled dressing for everything). I'll have to look for the White Vinegar.

Beautiful looking meal Chris. It's been years since I've bought any white balsamic. Almost forgot about it. And the vinaigrette sounds great. Italian dressing was my first grilled chicken marinade. Still use it every once in awhile. Ok...now I'm officially very hungry.